Windows 11 to revamp File Explorer menu, search, and Quick Settings for handhelds

⚡ The gist in 5 seconds

• Windows 11 is getting a revamped File Explorer context menu, gamepad-friendly Quick Settings, and live search — all of it is already being tested in Insider builds.
• Access depends on the channel: Experimental, Beta, and Feature Platform each offer a different set of features.
• Windows Hello forcibly raises screen brightness in the dark — and that's already a contentious point.

🔍 What happened

In episode 409 of the Windows Central podcast, Daniel Rubino and Zac Bowden broke down the latest wave of Windows 11 Insider preview builds. The same episode also covers Apple with a touchscreen and OLED on the M5 MacBook Pro, debates over Mini-LED in the Surface Laptop Ultra, and Big Tech's AI spending.

Here's how the updates break down. The File Explorer context menu has been rewritten, and the fixes arrived faster than usual. For gaming handhelds, Quick Settings have been adapted for gamepad control, along with a separate Gaming Task View. Phone Link has been integrated more deeply into the taskbar and the same Quick Settings. Plus, there's a built-in network speed test and expanded search results with inline controls right in the results. A separate storyline is Windows Hello: in the dark, the screen now lights up forcibly for recognition reliability.

🧠 Our take

It looks like Microsoft isn't fixing "features for the sake of features" but the most irritating little things. The File Explorer menu has been criticized for years for being cluttered, search for useless results, and the taskbar for keeping phone and PC in separate worlds. Our verdict: this isn't a breakthrough, it's a cleanup — and it's exactly what users have been asking for the longest.

What this changes in practice. The Windows handheld scene is growing, and without proper gamepad control, the OS there remains "a desktop with a touchpad." If Quick Settings and Gaming Task View make it to release, Windows will feel a bit less alien on portable consoles — and it's a direct competitor to SteamOS there. From experience, such things are decided not by reviews but by the first half hour after buying the device.

On Apple's side, the story is different: the podcast discusses the touchscreen and OLED on the M5 MacBook Pro as a change of course. We think the rumor is interesting not for the hardware but for how many times Apple called a laptop touchscreen unnecessary. Who wins? Users — if the features don't get locked behind a subscription and don't get cluttered with ads, which the episode also discusses separately. The losers are those who were waiting for big core changes and got cosmetics instead.

⚠️ What we don't know

There are no build numbers, dates, or an exact list of changes here — it's a podcast, not a changelog. Windows Hello's brightness behavior is described with the word "controversial," with no figures on false positives and no list of devices. The touchscreen on the M5 MacBook Pro is also discussion, not confirmation. It's worth verifying on the actual build via Windows Update and on the Windows Insider blog.